Research & Faculty

Cancer Biology

Chairman's Overview

The Department of Cancer Biology at The Scripps Research Institute was launched in 2006 to recruit faculty into the Florida campus, with close ties with faculty having cancer research interests at the La Jolla campus. Broadly, the goals of the research programs of the Department are to understand the molecular pathogenesis of cancer, with a focus on signaling pathways directed by oncogenes and tumor suppressors that control cell division, growth, survival, and differentiation, as well as those that modify the response to therapeutics. The faculty of the Department uses a battery of state-of-the-art technologies for target discovery and validation, and pre-clinical models have been developed to evaluate the efficacy of new leads in cancer prevention and therapeutics. Investigators in the Department have interests in understanding the molecular underpinnings of all of the major human malignancies, but also have interests in pediatric oncology, the interplay between cancer and the immune system, and the relationships between aging and cancer. One of the many strengths of TSRI are high-throughput technologies that allow Investigators to rapidly move forward potential leads using both genetic and small molecule screens. Collaborations with the major Cancer Centers in the State of Florida, and with TSRI cancer researchers at the LaJolla Campus, will allow leads that are identified to rapidly move forward into translational and clinical studies.